As Always, the Future is Here and it’s Filled With Robots

For some, no experience equals the terrible-restaurant-service experience.

Sure, we’ve all had the experience before. The waiter/waitress is rude or slow or just terrible at his/her job. You see the signs from the beginning and you know you’re in for a rough day. After ordering for the first time, you have to repeat your order to a server who has sheepishly come back to the table after not writing it down the first time. You see them run back to grab just a single a straw for a table without doing anything else on that trip. Your burger comes out as a fish sandwich. You get the idea.

For customers that have never worked in a restaurant, this infuriates them to no end. They’ve never been “in the weeds” before or had the pleasure of being yelled at by the customer, the grumpy chef, and the manager all because of the same table, even though they may have done their job correctly. These customers make exasperated noises and silly facial expressions. Some tip even worse than they would have before.

Even though I’ve worked in a restaurant and can relate to the waiter/waitress off day, I understand why people get upset. Most of the time, though, angry customers take their displeasure out on the wrong person. Not that that knowledge would stop them from screaming, “HOW DARE YOU BRING ME RANCH INSTEAD OF BLUE CHEESE!” anyway.

But not to fear, crabby restaurant clientele! The future of restaurant service is here and it is filled with robots. That’s right, robots.

Of course, China has had the robot restaurant game on lock since 2010. They’ve got robot waiters and robot chefs. [Insert lame tip joke here].

Just a few days ago, though, a restaurant in the UK unveiled their own robot waiter. Big deal, right? China’s been doing that for three years already. WRONG.

Yo! Sushi, a UK-based chain, didn’t come up with just any old robot waiter, they came out with a flying droid waiter. (GET SOME, CHINA!) The company calls this waiter the iTray and it’s a flying droid that is flown to a customer’s table, after being loaded with an order. According to The Daily Mail, the aircraft can be flown at speeds of up to 25 mph, which is more than six times a normal server’s walking speed.

Obviously, absolutely nothing can go wrong here. During busy service, it’s not uncommon to see a server spill food or drinks on people or crash into another server only to lose two entire orders. With six to eight droids flying around a restaurant at 25 mph carrying trays of food, I’m sure all that is a thing of the past. The disgruntled restaurant customer will definitely find nothing to complain about as a robot whizzes past his ear.

Good luck with that, UK restaurant staff (particularly the future maitre d’ pilots out there). I’m sure everything will be just fine.

Laugh now, America. Before you know it, flying robot waiters will be coming to a restaurant near you. And you will complain. Oh, how you will complain.